Świdnicka Cellar

The Świdnicka Cellar (Polish: Piwnica Świdnicka, [pivˈɲit͡sa ɕfidˈɲit͡ska], German: Schweidnitzer Keller) is a Polish restaurant company based in the medieval cellars of the Old Town Hall in Wrocław, Poland.^[1] It is the third-oldest Polish company in existence, as well as the oldest restaurant in Poland and one of the oldest in Europe, having been established in 1273,^[1] during Piast-ruled Kingdom of Poland.^[2]

Świdnicka Cellar
Piwnica Świdnicka

South facade of the Old Town Hall with the entrance to the restaurant
Industry	Restaurant
Founded	1273
Headquarters	Rynek Ratusz 1, Wrocław , Poland

Outside view from 1859

The name comes from the nearby city of Świdnica, from which beer was delivered to the restaurant in the Middle Ages.^[2] Świdnica was a renowned brewing centre, and its beer was served in restaurants called "Świdnicka Cellars," which existed in large cities such as Kraków (Piwnica Świdnicka w Krakowie), Toruń, and Wrocław, the last of which still operates to this day. The restaurant closed on December 29, 2017.^[3] It was reopened on July 2, 2022.^[4]

Notable visitors

Bilingual (Polish/German) wall table with the names of notable visitors

On the wall is a table with the names of notable visitors including:

• Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
• Gotthold Ephraim Lessing
• Joseph von Eichendorff
• Józef Wybicki
• August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
• Frederic Chopin
• Ferdinand Lassalle
• Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
• Juliusz Słowacki
• Karl Eduard von Holtei
• Gustav Freytag
• Gerhart Hauptmann
• Otto Mueller
• Hans Poelzig
• Max Berg
• Oskar Moll
• Alfred Kerr
• Paul Löbe

See also

• List of oldest companies